Family
by The Flower Girl
Summary: Lina and Gourry take a trip home per Luna's request, with interesting results.


Luna Inverse sat down at her desk, pen in hand. It had been a while since she had heard from her sister, and she was sure her marriage proposal had been ignored-she was just writing on behalf of her parents anyway. As she searched for an envelope caught her eye. It had a Saillune stamp. She hadn't seen one of those in a long time; Lina hadn't been in Saillune for at least a year. She flipped the envelope over; it was addressed to her and not her parents, as Lina's letters often were. Her attention piqued, she opened it.

_ Dear Miss Inverse,_

_I am writing on behalf of your sister who has been too ill to write. This is Amelia wil Tesla Saillune. I'm sure Miss Lina has mentioned me in her letters home. I'm sorry she has not been able to write. She and Mr. Gourry have been here in Saillune for the last month. Miss Lina fell ill and, due to her grave condition, we brought her back to Saillune so we could keep a closer watch on her. I was just writing to inform you that she is doing much better now and should be back traveling very soon. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to write me at this address._

_Sincerely,_

_Amelia wil Tesla Saillune_

Her seal followed.

She pushed the paper aside. Now she was curious. What could possibly keep Lina in Saillune for a month where she was sick enough not to write? She wasn't going to need the paper, she thought as she put it back in her desk drawer. She was going to need to pack, time to pay a visit to The Holy City.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Saillune, Lina was feeling the best she had felt in months; relaxed, full and happy! Gourry was to thank for a lot of that; he was responsible for making sure she was well-rested and sustained. They were ready to head out, and due to recent events, marriage and home became prevalent conversation once again.

Amelia had slipped it in during dinner one time, causing Prince Phil to spout about the joys and justness of marriage. After burying her head in her food, Lina ran out of the room, dragging Gourry behind her. The conversation caught up with her again when Amelia slipped her a contraception spell.

"I'm not going to need this," she told Amelia adamantly as Gourry left to spar with the off-duty guards.

"Miss Lina that plant didn't work. Besides, I researched that plant a few days ago-it's quite toxic in moderate doses. I'm surprised at you; I thought you'd research your herbs better."

"I was in a hurry," she said, trying to brush past Amelia.

"Miss Lina!" Amelia protested, slipping her the paper as she passed by.

She kept it only because Amelia shoved it at her in the manner she did. As she fingered the paper later, as Gourry bathed, the words came back to her. That damn herbalist lied to her! But did she, she wondered as she sat in the candle light. That herbalist was the only vendor in that town who _didn't_ know her, that's why Lina chose her. Besides, why would an old woman lie?

She sighed, and opened the folded paper. The spell followed. It was short and only a few seconds later she balled it up and tossed it in the wastebasket, just as Gourry stepped out of the bathroom and her senses overcame her.

"Gourry, I've been thinking…"

He paused, looking up from the towel he was drying his face on.

"I think we _should_ go home. I think the time has come for me to make a serious decision, and I don't want to do this, because I know what this means, but I think we should…get married. Just in case this happens again. I'm already afraid of what my sister will do if she found out why we've really been here so long."

She turned from the table and walked toward him. She joined him on the bed, where he had just begun rubbing down his sword. Maybe he hadn't even heard her at all.

"I told you that we were only going because the grapes were in season."

Her look told him he should know better. He grinned, ruffling her hair.

"Well, that _was_ part of the reason I wanted to go there. I'd like to go there with you, but mostly because _you_ asked this time."

Smiling, she let herself be pulled into his embrace.

* * *

Gourry awoke the next morning to a quick rapping on the door of the suite. Slipping on a pair of pants, he made his way to the sitting room to open the door. He didn't check who it was; Amelia was the only person who ever knocked that early.

Opening the door, he realized quickly that it wasn't Amelia. Cold steel on his throat and another one in a place far more tender caused him to step backwards into the room. The woman advanced, causing him to trip on the footrest near the door. Slowly backing up, he made his way toward the wall. When his feet hit molding, he stopped and started trying to burrow a hole through the wall with his shoulder blades. He swallowed hard.

"Alright, listen here. I know who you are and what role you play to my sister."

"Sister?" Gourry's voice was more of a screech than he intended.

"Yes, and now I expect you to tell me why you and my sister have been here for so long."

Awakened by the commotion, Lina slid out of bed. Grabbing the first thing she could find, Gourry's shirt, she rubbed her eyes and opened the door.

"Gourry? What's going on? Why is Amelia here so early?"

The purple-haired woman holding Gourry at knifepoint turned around and smiled.

"Hello sister," she said sardonically.

Lina screamed and slammed the door, locking it and throwing herself against it for good measure. What the hell was Luna doing here? _How_ did she know they were here? She hadn't written a letter home in at least a month. It must have been Amelia! She remembered then, when she was drifting in and out of consciousness that last time, that Amelia said she was going to send a letter to her sister to let her know how she was doing. Luna must have received it and wondered why she was in Saillune for so long, so she stopped by to find out for herself.

"Oh, and sis," Luna yelled from behind the door. "Put some pants on!"

Lina yelped and dove back under the covers. Curling herself up in a ball, she hyperventilated into her knees.

In the sitting room, Gourry stood at attention, eyes darting behind the closed bedroom door and the threatening woman in front of him. Should he tell the truth, and face Lina's wrath later or should he lie and risk the fate of his manhood at Luna's hands?

Removing the knives, she stepped back and placed them on the table. Motioning to the table, she sat down.

"I will leave these here _if_ you tell me why you and Lina were here for so long. You don't need to tell me what else you've been doing-I think I can figure that out." she began. "I know all about you from Lina's letters. You've been in every one she's written for the last four years. The letters _clearly_ did not do you justice, but if you have half a brain in you head, you will answer me truthfully, unless you really want to know what cold steel on your genitals feels like. As for what's going on in there," she motioned to the bedroom with her chin." I would like to know what your intent with my sister is."

Gourry stared at her for a moment. He had long ago given up on finding a family resemblance. Trying to pieces everything she said together to answer, Luna spoke again.

"Lina, I know you're hiding behind that door. Please come out."

Lina whimpered behind the door.

"I'm not going to do anything to you, _unless_ you don't come out, and I'm sure your princess friend wouldn't appreciate that very much."

The latch unlocked, and the door slowly opened, creaking as it crept along the floor. Lina poked her head out, still whimpering quietly. She was dressed, but looked like she did it in a hurry.

Nervously, she made her way to a chair. Grasping it, she pulled it out.

"Wh-what did Amelia tell you?" she asked, shakily as she sat down.

"I'm not here because of what she told me. I'm here for what she _didn't_ tell me. What didn't she tell me?"

Lina bit her lip, fighting back words and tears of terror.

Luna turned away from Lina.

"Gourry, what is your intent with my sister?"

"I'd like to marry her!" he said cheerfully, forgetting everything else for a moment.

"When were Mom and Dad going to know about this?" she asked, turning back to Lina.

"We were going to leave this morning," Lina said quietly, gripping the bottom of the chair until her knuckles turned white.

"OK, now why were you here so long?" Luna asked, slowly to both of them.

"I got sick," Lina whispered. "I lost consciousness in a town not far from here. Amelia was there with a mission and spent some time with the priestesses of the temple we found there. She brought me back here."

When Luna asked the main reason why she got sick, Lina bolted out of the chair. Gourry wasn't sure if her tears were tears of pain or tears of fright. His look to Luna softened her a minute.

"Can you excuse us for a moment?" he asked, sliding out of his chair.

She let him go. The door lightly closed. She heard him call her sister's name, and as much as she enjoyed torturing her sister, she knew something was wrong by the way Gourry called to her.

"I don't want to do it," Lina said, near hysterics. "I don't want her to know. I don't know _what_ she'll do to me if she found out."

"Lina, I can tell her," Gourry started.

"No!" she screeched. "Maybe we can sneak out through the window and Amelia can tell her after we've gone."

"Lina, we're four stories up. It's not going to work and she's not going to go away. Besides, she has to travel back to Zefielia anyway. We may as well travel with her."

"I don't want to travel with her!"

Fearing a hysterical Lina, Gourry gripped her shoulders, a little too tightly.

"Gourry, you're hurting me," she said quietly.

"I'm not going to let you go until you get your nerves back. One way or another, your sister has to find out. She's more concerned that something really bad happened."

"How do you know?" Lina asked, through red eyes.

"She told me after you ran back into the bedroom. She really is concerned. That's more than my brother ever was."

He pulled her into an embrace. They held it for a few minutes, losing fears. When they parted, she grabbed her things.

* * *

It was a ten day trip from The Holy City to Zefiel City. Amelia, being concerned for Lina's health, naturally insisted on going. Luna, having heard the whole story, agreed. Lina hyperventilated the entire first day, but by the third, was fine. She hummed quietly to herself, before realizing that in seven days, she'd be an entirely new person. She shivered at the thought-she'd be an entirely new person?

"Gourry," she whispered, pulling his attention back to earth. "Gourry? Are you nervous?"

"Why should I be nervous? Your parents aren't going to shoot fireballs at me are they?" he joked.

"No, but that's not really what I'm worried about." She started again. "I'm really afraid of getting married. I don't want to become a cute little wifey-wife who stays at home tending a dozen kids and making meals on time while you go out and have fun."

Gourry chuckled.

"This is what you've been worried about?" he slid his arm around her. "What made you think I wanted that?"

"I've had too much time to think. A girl does strange things when she's going to get married. I'm just afraid we're going to get married and you're going to change into someone I don't like and I'm going to change into someone I don't like..."

By now, they were lagging behind to the point that Luna and Amelia stopped walking and were watching them embrace.

"Come on you two lovebirds. Unless you want to camp out again."

Blushing, Lina pulled herself away, muttering something about alone time. Amelia held back too, for once, not to ask her about her health, but about her wedding.

Grasping for words, she muttered a low: "I don't know."

All she knew was as soon as they reached the next inn; she was locking herself in her room until her head stopped spinning. There were just too many things for her to handle. She still couldn't believe Luna didn't do anything when she heard the news of the miscarriage. She just looked at the both of them with a: "well then" and dropped it. Maybe she was getting docile with her old age.

The rest of the trip was largely uneventful. No bandits to kill, not like Luna would have allowed it, no inns to spend all night eating in. Luna made it a point to be quick and efficient. It was the most peaceful trip they'd ever been on, Amelia remarked. Lina was tempted to kick her.

* * *

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Luna called, voice bouncing off the walls.

"Luna, you're home already?" a brown-haired woman asked, stepping out from behind the counter to the backroom that led to their house. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Lina and her friends.

"LIIIIIIIINAA!" she squealed, running to her.

"MAAAAAMAA!" Lina squealed in response.

Echoes of screaming bounced off the walls as mother and daughter reunited after six years. Stepping back, Lana admired the group. Lina was very thorough in her letters home and Lana immediately recognized Gourry and Amelia, but noticed the letters did _not_ do them justice. Usually Lina would write pages and pages of what she ate and various spells she had tried and their effects. Being a sorceress herself, Lana understood the importance of trying new spells and Lina knew her mother enjoyed reading them. From what and how she had mentioned Gourry in her letters, she had a feeling she knew what was coming. That would explain the strange look on Luna's face.

"There's one more letter you haven't read, Mama," Lina said, pulling a letter from one of her mantel holds. "I wrote it right before Luna arrived.

Holding her breath, she waited as her mother read the news of their engagement and plans of their arrival.

"My Lina's finally getting married!" Lana squealed again, making _Amelia_ shudder. "We'll start baking right away."

She got up from her chair, running around the kitchen, pulling out the pots and pans she would need for the feast.

Luna cleared her throat.

"That's not the only reason she's here. There's something she left out."

Lana sat down. Through a shaky Gourry, Amelia and Luna, the story was retold, from the part Lina left out to where it picked up again. Sitting quietly for a minute, Lana thought about the situation.

"After a crisis like that, you need to eat! Let me make you some food!"

Amelia turned to Gourry.

"I see where she gets it from," she shuddered as Lana clanged pots in the kitchen.

"Mrs. Inverse, are you sure you're OK?" she asked as Lana poured water into a pot.

"Of course I am."

She pulled out six onions and a knife.

"It's going to be a while so go ahead and make yourselves comfortable. Luna, could you mind the store until your father gets home?"

Upstairs in her old room, Lina sat on the bed. Nothing had changed much in the six years that she had been gone. The bed that she sat on was in the same shape it was when she left it, except now the light orange bedspread showed slightly more wear than the last time she looked at it. The smell of her mother's cooking wafted up from the kitchen and she smiled. Except for Luna, nothing changed.

The familiar clomp of feet on the floor brought her out of her food induced trance. Bolting up right, she ran to her door, swinging it open and dashed down the stairs.

"DAAADDYY!"she screeched, pulling Amelia out of the dance she was doing in the living room and waking Gourry who was sleeping in the hallway.

"Linaaa!" he replied, joyously. Intercepting his daughter, he picked her up, spun her around and set her back on the ground.

"What brings my Lina home?" he asked, as Gourry barreled down the stairs, ready for anything.

"Gourry, put that away. I don't think my parents will appreciate that very much."

As Gourry sheathed his sword, Valin Inverse looked from his daughter to the blond man he assumed was her friend. He looked familiar somehow; maybe he had come into the store before…

"Pretty much everything you would expect," she said quietly, causing him to lean in closer.

"Honey, they're all here to ask you something," Lana called from the kitchen.

"Oh? Well then, let me wash up and we all can talk around the fire; it's to be a cold night."

"Don't get too comfortable, I'm almost done in here and Lina needs all the comfort food she can get."

* * *

After the store closed, Luna came in to join them around the table, occasionally glaring at Lina and her friends. Every time she would, Lina would try to burrow into Gourry's arm.

"Luna, stop terrorizing your sister," Lana reprimanded across the table. "She's already been through enough."

"So what's the big secret and when are you going to let me in on it?" Valin asked his wife, giving a toothy grin.

"You'll find out soon enough, now eat because I didn't slave away for you to stare at it."

Lina pushed her food around on her plate. She was nervous. She could count on one hand how many times her father had gotten angry. Once was when that thief broke into the store about fifteen years ago, another time was that time she destroyed that bay a few years later and she couldn't remember the Sorcerer's Guild incident very well, but it didn't end well for them. She had a sinking feeling that this was going to be the fourth time.

So it was that night around the fire, with her father in his slippers that she knotted her tunic into a ball while Gourry explained the current events that brought them home and his intent with Lina. She found herself holding her breath as she watched her father's face as his look changed from calm to worried to…happy? His eyes lit up and he jumped out of his chair.

"Oh this is wonderful news! Why did no one tell me before! We'll start tomorrow with all the preparations and-" he turned back to Gourry, placing his arm around his shoulder. "You and I are going to have a little talk."

Gourry paled as he slapped his back.

"It's nothing too terrible-that's Luna's job, and she's already done that I've heard. It'll be a nice man to man chat. Not everyone gets to marry my little girl."

Gourry gulped as her father laughed. Amelia smiled and turned to Lina.

"Come on Miss Lina, let's start planning!"

"Amelia, I-" she started.

"Nonsense!" her father boomed. "We're doing nothing of the sort tonight. We'll start tomorrow. "

The next few days went by as a blur. The next day at the crack of dawn Amelia _and _Luna woke her up. There was fabric to be found, they had said as they dragged her from shop to shop looking for just the right one. Lana was gone for hours at a time, buying the food for the post-wedding feast. It was the only time they had closed the shop since Lina's birth. Gourry was kidnapped by Valin and was learning about the area and how it was they came to settle. More than likely he'd forget all the information by the time they got back, but Valin wasn't known to let the Inverse legacy go forgotten.

Once the preparations had been completed, Lana dragged Lina into the kitchen.

"Mama, I'm never going to need this," she protested.

"You say that now," Lana said, lighting the stove. "But one day, when you and Gourry have to settle down, you'll thank me."

That vision of Lina chasing twelve kids around again flew through her head again it took everything she could to free her mind.

"Do you want to go out in the garden and get me this entire list?" Lana asked, peeling potatoes.

"So much for hoping Gourry'd cook…" Lina muttered, walking into the garden her mother kept in the backyard. She looked out over the vineyards and lost herself in thought. That vision threatened to appear again, but she glanced at the paper.

Two basketfuls later, she joined her mother in the kitchen. Lana had peeled the potatoes and started on apples for the pie she planned on making that evening.

"Mama," Lina asked quietly, pulling up a chair. "Did you send Luna to come and get us?"

"No, she was worried about you. She mentioned something about the inconsistencies of your letters and that she was going to talk to Amelia to find out why."

"I just always thought she'd come storming in if she ever suspected anything-"

Just then, Amelia stormed in.

"Miss Lina, it's finished! The tailor just dropped it off!" she squealed, spinning in a circle.

"It is?" Lana asked.

"Mm hmm!"

"Oh Lina, you should go try it on! I want to see it!"

Reluctantly, Lina followed Amelia into her bedroom where the finished dress hung from her wardrobe. It was green satin with an embroidered collar and fitted sleeves. Lina stepped back, trying to look at herself while Amelia quickly pinned up her hair in a style similar to her garden party style.

She caught a look of herself in the mirror as Amelia placed the final pins in place. It was a sight she never expected to see short of another of Amelia's parties.

Here it was, the eve of her wedding. The day she spent so long dreading was here. She sighed and smiled meekly. It wouldn't be that bad, would it? What would change about their relationship that hadn't already?

Tomorrow would be different, she decided. No longer would she dread it. She was Lina Inverse, she had stared down dragons and dark lords and saved the world a few times, she could easily do something as easy as getting married.

"Lina, I do think you will be the most beautiful bride there." Lana commented, smiling.

"Mama, I'll be the only bride there," Lina groaned.

"Well yes, but you're forgetting I was also a bride once."

"I don't think I could ever be prettier than you."

"I'm sure you'll change your mind tomorrow," Lana laughed. "If you'll excuse me, I have food to finish cooking. Lina, when you're done changing, I need you in the kitchen."

* * *

Lina awoke the next morning to the smell of bacon and eggs. She had barely tossed the covers back when her door flew open and her mother appeared with a tray full of food. Before she could even tell her that wasn't nearly enough, Amelia walked in with another tray full to the brim.

"We don't want anything bad to happen." Amelia joked, setting the tray on her bed.

"Which reminds me," Lana started, her tray joining Amelia's. "We rented a room for you. Gourry and your father are over there now setting a few things up. We figured you wouldn't want to stay here tonight. The key is on your dresser."

They left after that, leaving Lina to think in silence. Eating was no fun unless Gourry was there with her. She ate as quickly as she could and prepared herself for the inevitable.

The wedding was nothing like she expected. Her family, a couple of their friends and Amelia were the only ones there. The ceremony was unusually simple, in the backyard archway her parents had always had with the local priest officiating. White and yellow wildflowers that Amelia had picked that morning was her bouquet and Amelia her only bridesmaid. Luna had made it known rather loudly that, while she was in support of the union, she wanted nothing to do with the ceremony herself-she seemed content to sit in the front row and glower every time Lina faltered. The town was ablaze with rumors and some even watched from the store front to see for themselves.

When the festivities died down, Lina found herself in the inn room her and Gourry would share for the remainder of their stay. As she turned from the window, she caught a glint of gold in the lamplight and looked at her hand. A simple gold band decorated her finger and her breath caught in her throat as Gourry entered from the bath.

"You looked very nice," he said, setting his borrowed clothes in a neatly folded pile by the bed. "I couldn't tell you earlier."

"Thanks," she said quietly. She caught a whiff of his shampoo and lost all thought.

Something snapped inside of them both. She turned to embrace him, but Gourry had a different idea. He pinned her to the wardrobe and searched for his mouth while he kneaded her breast beneath the fabric. They didn't need to talk, they just needed to feel; it had been far too long since they held each other and there was no time for talking. They were tired and lacked stamina but they needed it.

"Gourry," Lina said, stopping him. "I don't think I'm going to be able to get out of this."

"No problem," he said, wrapping her legs around his waist. He pushed the fabric to her knees and slid his fingers beneath it. Her eyes widened and she gasped his name as he slid them into her.

"What?" he asked, grinning as he pumped his fingers deeper inside her.

She could say nothing. All she could do was grasp his shoulders as he inched a third finger into her darkness. Her eyes went wide as she teetered on the edge. Hungrily, he nibbled her ear. She whispered his name as his thumb teased that nub above her opening. His erection strained at his pants and it took all of his strength to block out the little noises she made.

Suddenly, her hands were at his waist. She gave his bulge a little squeeze and pushed his pants to the floor. She whispered something in his ear. He removed his fingers.

"Gourry, I've waited two and a half weeks, I don't want to wait any longer." She brought her mouth back to his ear. "And you won't either, if you know what's good for you."

He slid into her darkness with a grunt. He wouldn't last long and they both knew it. He set his hand on the wardrobe behind her for leverage. The curtain was open, but neither of them made any effort to close it. It was just them and no one else. The wardrobe shook from the force as Gourry pounded into her.

The end was in sight. He bit his lip. She dug her nails into his shoulders and called his name. She called to him again and collapsed just in time for him to climax. They sat there for a minute, the cool air blowing in, the pieces of a shattered china bowl that had been on top of the wardrobe scattered among them.

"You're still dressed," Gourry spoke breathlessly, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Lina sighed, sliding her legs from his waist.

"Do you need me to help you change?" he asked.

"I have a better idea," she said smiling.

She kissed him fiercely and unbuttoned his pajama top. His pants, already on the floor, were abandoned. Sitting on the bed, she worked her way down. She felt like she could make love all night, and she wanted to. She smiled as she looked at his limp member, finally, they were alone.


End file.
